Adds aneutronic fusion to types of Class I renewable
energies as defined for purposes of "Electric Discount and Energy Competition
Act."

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

An Actconcerning renewable energy, and amending
P.L.1999, c.23.

Be It
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 3 of P.L.1999,
c.23 (C.48:3-51) is amended to read as follows:

3. As used in P.L.1999,
c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.):

"Assignee" means a
person to which an electric public utility or another assignee assigns, sells
or transfers, other than as security, all or a portion of its right to or
interest in bondable transition property. Except as specifically provided in
P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.), an assignee shall not be subject to the
public utility requirements of Title 48 or any rules or regulations adopted
pursuant thereto;

"Base load electric power
generation facility" means an electric power generation facility intended
to be operated at a greater than 50 percent capacity factor including, but not
limited to, a combined cycle power facility and a combined heat and power
facility;

"Base residual
auction" means the auction conducted by PJM, as part of PJM's reliability
pricing model, three years prior to the start of the delivery year to secure
electrical capacity as necessary to satisfy the capacity requirements for that
delivery year;

"Basic gas supply
service" means gas supply service that is provided to any customer that
has not chosen an alternative gas supplier, whether or not the customer has
received offers as to competitive supply options, including, but not limited
to, any customer that cannot obtain such service for any reason, including
non-payment for services. Basic gas supply service is not a competitive
service and shall be fully regulated by the board;

"Basic generation
service" or "BGS" means electric generation service that is
provided, to any customer that has not chosen an alternative electric power
supplier, whether or not the customer has received offers for competitive
supply options, including, but not limited to, any customer that cannot obtain
such service from an electric power supplier for any reason, including
non-payment for services. Basic generation service is not a competitive
service and shall be fully regulated by the board;

"Basic generation service
provider" or "provider" means a provider of basic generation
service;

"Basic generation service
transition costs" means the amount by which the payments by an electric
public utility for the procurement of power for basic generation service and
related ancillary and administrative costs exceeds the net revenues from the
basic generation service charge established by the board pursuant to section 9
of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-57) during the transition period, together with
interest on the balance at the board-approved rate, that is reflected in a
deferred balance account approved by the board in an order addressing the
electric public utility's unbundled rates, stranded costs, and restructuring
filings pursuant to P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.). Basic generation
service transition costs shall include, but are not limited to, costs of
purchases from the spot market, bilateral contracts, contracts with non-utility
generators, parting contracts with the purchaser of the electric public
utility's divested generation assets, short-term advance purchases, and
financial instruments such as hedging, forward contracts, and options. Basic
generation service transition costs shall also include the payments by an
electric public utility pursuant to a competitive procurement process for basic
generation service supply during the transition period, and costs of any such
process used to procure the basic generation service supply;

"Board" means the
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities or any successor agency;

"Bondable stranded
costs" means any stranded costs or basic generation service transition
costs of an electric public utility approved by the board for recovery pursuant
to the provisions of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.), together with, as
approved by the board: (1) the cost of retiring existing debt or equity capital
of the electric public utility, including accrued interest, premium and other
fees, costs and charges relating thereto, with the proceeds of the financing of
bondable transition property; (2) if requested by an electric public utility in
its application for a bondable stranded costs rate order, federal, State and
local tax liabilities associated with stranded costs recovery or basic
generation service transition cost recovery or the transfer or financing of
such property or both, including taxes, whose recovery period is modified by
the effect of a stranded costs recovery order, a bondable stranded costs rate
order or both; and (3) the costs incurred to issue, service or refinance
transition bonds, including interest, acquisition or redemption premium, and
other financing costs, whether paid upon issuance or over the life of the
transition bonds, including, but not limited to, credit enhancements, service
charges, overcollateralization, interest rate cap, swap or collar, yield
maintenance, maturity guarantee or other hedging agreements, equity
investments, operating costs and other related fees, costs and charges, or to
assign, sell or otherwise transfer bondable transition property;

"Bondable stranded costs
rate order" means one or more irrevocable written orders issued by the
board pursuant to P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.) which determines the amount
of bondable stranded costs and the initial amount of transition bond charges
authorized to be imposed to recover such bondable stranded costs, including the
costs to be financed from the proceeds of the transition bonds, as well as
on-going costs associated with servicing and credit enhancing the transition
bonds, and provides the electric public utility specific authority to issue or
cause to be issued, directly or indirectly, transition bonds through a
financing entity and related matters as provided in P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49
et al.), which order shall become effective immediately upon the written
consent of the related electric public utility to such order as provided in
P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.);

"Bondable transition
property" means the property consisting of the irrevocable right to
charge, collect and receive, and be paid from collections of, transition bond
charges in the amount necessary to provide for the full recovery of bondable
stranded costs which are determined to be recoverable in a bondable stranded
costs rate order, all rights of the related electric public utility under such
bondable stranded costs rate order including, without limitation, all rights to
obtain periodic adjustments of the related transition bond charges pursuant to
subsection b. of section 15 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-64), and all revenues,
collections, payments, money and proceeds arising under, or with respect to,
all of the foregoing;

"British thermal
unit" or "Btu" means the amount of heat required to increase the
temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit;

"Broker" means a
duly licensed electric power supplier that assumes the contractual and legal
responsibility for the sale of electric generation service, transmission or
other services to end-use retail customers, but does not take title to any of
the power sold, or a duly licensed gas supplier that assumes the contractual
and legal obligation to provide gas supply service to end-use retail customers,
but does not take title to the gas;

"Brownfield" means
any former or current commercial or industrial site that is currently vacant or
underutilized and on which there has been, or there is suspected to have been,
a discharge of a contaminant;

"Buydown" means an
arrangement or arrangements involving the buyer and seller in a given power
purchase contract and, in some cases third parties, for consideration to be
given by the buyer in order to effectuate a reduction in the pricing, or the
restructuring of other terms to reduce the overall cost of the power contract,
for the remaining succeeding period of the purchased power arrangement or
arrangements;

"Buyout" means an
arrangement or arrangements involving the buyer and seller in a given power
purchase contract and, in some cases third parties, for consideration to be
given by the buyer in order to effectuate a termination of such power purchase
contract;

"Class I renewable
energy" means electric energy produced from solar technologies,
photovoltaic technologies, wind energy, fuel cells, geothermal technologies, aneutronic
fusion, wave or tidal action, small scale hydropower facilities with a
capacity of three megawatts or less and put into service after the effective
date of P.L.2012, c.24, and methane gas from landfills or a biomass facility,
provided that the biomass is cultivated and harvested in a sustainable manner;

"Class II renewable
energy" means electric energy produced at a hydropower facility with a
capacity of greater than three megawatts or a resource recovery facility,
provided that such facility is located where retail competition is permitted
and provided further that the Commissioner of Environmental Protection has
determined that such facility meets the highest environmental standards and
minimizes any impacts to the environment and local communities;

"Co-generation"
means the sequential production of electricity and steam or other forms of
useful energy used for industrial or commercial heating and cooling purposes;

"Combined cycle power
facility" means a generation facility that combines two or more
thermodynamic cycles, by producing electric power via the combustion of fuel
and then routing the resulting waste heat by-product to a conventional boiler
or to a heat recovery steam generator for use by a steam turbine to produce
electric power, thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the generating
facility;

"Combined heat and power
facility" or "co-generation facility" means a generation
facility which produces electric energy and steam or other forms of useful
energy such as heat, which are used for industrial or commercial heating or
cooling purposes. A combined heat and power facility or co-generation facility
shall not be considered a public utility;

"Competitive
service" means any service offered by an electric public utility or a gas
public utility that the board determines to be competitive pursuant to section
8 or section 10 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-56 or C.48:3-58) or that is not
regulated by the board;

"Commercial and
industrial energy pricing class customer" or "CIEP class
customer" means that group of non-residential customers with high peak
demand, as determined by periodic board order, which either is eligible or
which would be eligible, as determined by periodic board order, to receive
funds from the Retail Margin Fund established pursuant to section 9 of
P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-57) and for which basic generation service is
hourly-priced;

"Comprehensive resource
analysis" means an analysis including, but not limited to, an assessment
of existing market barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency and
renewable technologies that are not or cannot be delivered to customers through
a competitive marketplace;

"Connected to the
distribution system" means, for a solar electric power generation
facility, that the facility is: (1) connected to a net metering customer's side
of a meter, regardless of the voltage at which that customer connects to the
electric grid, (2) an on-site generation facility, (3) qualified for net
metering aggregation as provided pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection e. of
section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87), (4) owned or operated by an electric
public utility and approved by the board pursuant to section 13 of P.L.2007,
c.340 (C.48:3-98.1), (5) directly connected to the electric grid at 69kilovolts
or less, regardless of how an electric public utility classifies that portion
of its electric grid, and is designated as "connected to the distribution
system" by the board pursuant to subsections q. through s. of section 38
of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87), or (6) is certified by the board, in
consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, as being located
on a brownfield, on an area of historic fill, or on a properly closed sanitary
landfill facility. Any solar electric power generation facility, other than
that of a net metering customer on the customer's side of the meter, connected
above 69 kilovolts shall not be considered connected to the distribution system;

"Customer" means any
person that is an end user and is connected to any part of the transmission and
distribution system within an electric public utility's service territory or a
gas public utility's service territory within this State;

"Delivery year" or
"DY" means the 12-month period from June 1st through May 31st,
numbered according to the calendar year in which it ends;

"Demand side
management" means the management of customer demand for energy service
through the implementation of cost-effective energy efficiency technologies,
including, but not limited to, installed conservation, load management and
energy efficiency measures on and in the residential, commercial, industrial,
institutional and governmental premises and facilities in this State;

"Electric generation
service" means the provision of retail electric energy and capacity which
is generated off-site from the location at which the consumption of such
electric energy and capacity is metered for retail billing purposes, including
agreements and arrangements related thereto;

"Electric power
generator" means an entity that proposes to construct, own, lease or
operate, or currently owns, leases or operates, an electric power production
facility that will sell or does sell at least 90 percent of its output, either
directly or through a marketer, to a customer or customers located at sites
that are not on or contiguous to the site on which the facility will be located
or is located. The designation of an entity as an electric power generator for
the purposes of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.) shall not, in and of itself,
affect the entity's status as an exempt wholesale generator under the Public
Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, 15 U.S.C. s.79 et seq., or its successor;

"Electric power
supplier" means a person or entity that is duly licensed pursuant to the
provisions of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.) to offer and to assume the
contractual and legal responsibility to provide electric generation service to
retail customers, and includes load serving entities, marketers and brokers
that offer or provide electric generation service to retail customers. The term
excludes an electric public utility that provides electric generation service
only as a basic generation service pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1999, c.23
(C.48:3-57);

"Electric public
utility" means a public utility, as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13,
that transmits and distributes electricity to end users within this State;

"Electric related
service" means a service that is directly related to the consumption of
electricity by an end user, including, but not limited to, the installation of
demand side management measures at the end user's premises, the maintenance,
repair or replacement of appliances, lighting, motors or other energy-consuming
devices at the end user's premises, and the provision of energy consumption
measurement and billing services;

"Electronic
signature" means an electronic sound, symbol or process, attached to, or
logically associated with, a contract or other record, and executed or adopted
by a person with the intent to sign the record;

"Eligible generator"
means a developer of a base load or mid-merit electric power generation
facility including, but not limited to, an on-site generation facility that
qualifies as a capacity resource under PJM criteria and that commences
construction after the effective date of P.L.2011, c.9 (C.48:3-98.2 et al.);

"Energy agent" means
a person that is duly registered pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1999, c.23
(C.48:3-49 et al.), that arranges the sale of retail electricity or electric
related services or retail gas supply or gas related services between
government aggregators or private aggregators and electric power suppliers or
gas suppliers, but does not take title to the electric or gas sold;

"Energy consumer"
means a business or residential consumer of electric generation service or gas
supply service located within the territorial jurisdiction of a government
aggregator;

"Energy efficiency
portfolio standard" means a requirement to procure a specified amount of
energy efficiency or demand side management resources as a means of managing
and reducing energy usage and demand by customers;

"Energy year" or
"EY" means the 12-month period from June 1st through May 31st,
numbered according to the calendar year in which it ends;

"Farmland" means
land actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use that is valued,
assessed, and taxed pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of
1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.);

"Final remediation
document" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of
P.L.1976, c.141 (C.58:10-23.11b);

"Financing entity"
means an electric public utility, a special purpose entity, or any other
assignee of bondable transition property, which issues transition bonds.
Except as specifically provided in P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.), a
financing entity which is not itself an electric public utility shall not be
subject to the public utility requirements of Title 48 or any rules or
regulations adopted pursuant thereto;

"Gas public utility"
means a public utility, as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13, that
distributes gas to end users within this State;

"Gas related
service" means a service that is directly related to the consumption of
gas by an end user, including, but not limited to, the installation of demand
side management measures at the end user's premises, the maintenance, repair or
replacement of appliances or other energy-consuming devices at the end user's
premises, and the provision of energy consumption measurement and billing
services;

"Gas supplier" means
a person that is duly licensed pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1999, c.23
(C.48:3-49 et al.) to offer and assume the contractual and legal obligation to
provide gas supply service to retail customers, and includes, but is not
limited to, marketers and brokers. A non-public utility affiliate of a public
utility holding company may be a gas supplier, but a gas public utility or any
subsidiary of a gas utility is not a gas supplier. In the event that a gas
public utility is not part of a holding company legal structure, a related
competitive business segment of that gas public utility may be a gas supplier,
provided that related competitive business segment is structurally separated
from the gas public utility, and provided that the interactions between the gas
public utility and the related competitive business segment are subject to the
affiliate relations standards adopted by the board pursuant to subsection k. of
section 10 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-58);

"Gas supply service"
means the provision to customers of the retail commodity of gas, but does not
include any regulated distribution service;

"Government
aggregator" means any government entity subject to the requirements of the
"Local Public Contracts Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.),
the "Public School Contracts Law," N.J.S.18A:18A-1 et seq., or the "County
College Contracts Law," P.L.1982, c.189 (C.18A:64A-25.1 et seq.), that
enters into a written contract with a licensed electric power supplier or a
licensed gas supplier for: (1) the provision of electric generation service,
electric related service, gas supply service, or gas related service for its
own use or the use of other government aggregators; or (2) if a municipal or
county government, the provision of electric generation service or gas supply
service on behalf of business or residential customers within its territorial
jurisdiction;

"Government energy
aggregation program" means a program and procedure pursuant to which a
government aggregator enters into a written contract for the provision of
electric generation service or gas supply service on behalf of business or
residential customers within its territorial jurisdiction;

"Greenhouse gas emissions
portfolio standard" means a requirement that addresses or limits the
amount of carbon dioxide emissions indirectly resulting from the use of
electricity as applied to any electric power suppliers and basic generation
service providers of electricity;

"Historic fill"
means generally large volumes of non-indigenous material, no matter what date
they were emplaced on the site, used to raise the topographic elevation of a
site, which were contaminated prior to emplacement and are in no way connected
with the operations at the location of emplacement and which include, but are
not limited to, construction debris, dredge spoils, incinerator residue,
demolition debris, fly ash, and non-hazardous solid waste. "Historic
fill" shall not include any material which is substantially chromate
chemical production waste or any other chemical production waste or waste from
processing of metal or mineral ores, residues, slags, or tailings;

"Incremental
auction" means an auction conducted by PJM, as part of PJM's reliability
pricing model, prior to the start of the delivery year to secure electric
capacity as necessary to satisfy the capacity requirements for that delivery
year, that is not otherwise provided for in the base residual auction;

"Leakage" means an
increase in greenhouse gas emissions related to generation sources located
outside of the State that are not subject to a state, interstate or regional
greenhouse gas emissions cap or standard that applies to generation sources
located within the State;

"Locational
deliverability area" or "LDA" means one or more of the zones
within the PJM region which are used to evaluate area transmission constraints
and reliability issues including electric public utility company zones,
sub-zones, and combinations of zones;

"Long-term capacity
agreement pilot program" or "LCAPP" means a pilot program
established by the board that includes participation by eligible generators, to
seek offers for financially-settled standard offer capacity agreements with
eligible generators pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2011, c.9 (C.48:3-98.2 et
al.);

"Market transition
charge" means a charge imposed pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1999, c.23
(C.48:3-61) by an electric public utility, at a level determined by the board,
on the electric public utility customers for a limited duration transition
period to recover stranded costs created as a result of the introduction of
electric power supply competition pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1999, c.23
(C.48:3-49 et al.);

"Marketer" means a
duly licensed electric power supplier that takes title to electric energy and
capacity, transmission and other services from electric power generators and
other wholesale suppliers and then assumes the contractual and legal obligation
to provide electric generation service, and may include transmission and other
services, to an end-use retail customer or customers, or a duly licensed gas
supplier that takes title to gas and then assumes the contractual and legal
obligation to provide gas supply service to an end-use customer or customers;

"Mid-merit electric power
generation facility" means a generation facility that operates at a
capacity factor between baseload generation facilities and peaker generation
facilities;

"Net metering
aggregation" means a procedure for calculating the combination of the
annual energy usage for all facilities owned by a single customer where such
customer is a State entity, school district, county, county agency, county
authority, municipality, municipal agency, or municipal authority, and which
are served by a solar electric power generating facility as provided pursuant
to paragraph (4) of subsection e. of section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87);

"Net proceeds" means
proceeds less transaction and other related costs as determined by the board;

"Net revenues" means
revenues less related expenses, including applicable taxes, as determined by
the board;

"Offshore wind renewable
energy certificate" or "OREC" means a certificate, issued by the
board or its designee, representing the environmental attributes of one
megawatt hour of electric generation from a qualified offshore wind project;

"Off-site end use thermal
energy services customer" means an end use customer that purchases thermal
energy services from an on-site generation facility, combined heat and power
facility, or co-generation facility, and that is located on property that is
separated from the property on which the on-site generation facility, combined
heat and power facility, or co-generation facility is located by more than one
easement, public thoroughfare, or transportation or utility-owned right-of-way;

"On-site generation
facility" means a generation facility, including, but not limited to, a
generation facility that produces Class I or Class II renewable energy, and
equipment and services appurtenant to electric sales by such facility to the
end use customer located on the property or on property contiguous to the
property on which the end user is located. An on-site generation facility shall
not be considered a public utility. The property of the end use customer and
the property on which the on-site generation facility is located shall be
considered contiguous if they are geographically located next to each other,
but may be otherwise separated by an easement, public thoroughfare,
transportation or utility-owned right-of-way, or if the end use customer is
purchasing thermal energy services produced by the on-site generation facility,
for use for heating or cooling, or both, regardless of whether the customer is
located on property that is separated from the property on which the on-site
generation facility is located by more than one easement, public thoroughfare,
or transportation or utility-owned right-of-way;

"PJM Interconnection,
L.L.C." or "PJM" means the privately-held, limited liability
corporation that is a FERC-approved Regional Transmission Organization, or its
successor, that manages the regional, high-voltage electricity grid serving all
or parts of 13 states including New Jersey and the District of Columbia,
operates the regional competitive wholesale electric market, manages the
regional transmission planning process, and establishes systems and rules to
ensure that the regional and in-State energy markets operate fairly and efficiently;

"Preliminary
assessment" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of
P.L.1976, c.141 (C.58:10-23.11b);

"Private aggregator"
means a non-government aggregator that is a duly-organized business or
non-profit organization authorized to do business in this State that enters
into a contract with a duly licensed electric power supplier for the purchase
of electric energy and capacity, or with a duly licensed gas supplier for the
purchase of gas supply service, on behalf of multiple end-use customers by
combining the loads of those customers;

"Properly closed sanitary
landfill facility" means a sanitary landfill facility, or a portion of a
sanitary landfill facility, for which performance is complete with respect to
all activities associated with the design, installation, purchase, or
construction of all measures, structures, or equipment required by the
Department of Environmental Protection, pursuant to law, in order to prevent,
minimize, or monitor pollution or health hazards resulting from a sanitary
landfill facility subsequent to the termination of operations at any portion
thereof, including, but not necessarily limited to, the placement of earthen or
vegetative cover, and the installation of methane gas vents or monitors and
leachate monitoring wells or collection systems at the site of any sanitary
landfill facility;

"Public utility holding
company" means: (1) any company that, directly or indirectly, owns,
controls, or holds with power to vote, ten percent or more of the outstanding
voting securities of an electric public utility or a gas public utility or of a
company which is a public utility holding company by virtue of this definition,
unless the Securities and Exchange Commission, or its successor, by order
declares such company not to be a public utility holding company under the
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, 15 U.S.C. s.79 et seq., or its
successor; or (2) any person that the Securities and Exchange Commission, or
its successor, determines, after notice and opportunity for hearing, directly
or indirectly, to exercise, either alone or pursuant to an arrangement or
understanding with one or more other persons, such a controlling influence over
the management or policies of an electric public utility or a gas public
utility or public utility holding company as to make it necessary or
appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors or
consumers that such person be subject to the obligations, duties, and
liabilities imposed in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or its
successor;

"Qualified offshore wind
project" means a wind turbine electricity generation facility in the Atlantic Ocean and connected to the electric transmission system in this State, and
includes the associated transmission-related interconnection facilities and
equipment, and approved by the board pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2010, c.57
(C.48:3-87.1);

"Registration
program" means an administrative process developed by the board pursuant
to subsection u. of section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87) that requires all
owners of solar electric power generation facilities connected to the
distribution system that intend to generate SRECs, to file with the board
documents detailing the size, location, interconnection plan, land use, and
other project information as required by the board;

"Regulatory asset"
means an asset recorded on the books of an electric public utility or gas
public utility pursuant to the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, No.
71, entitled "Accounting for the Effects of Certain Types of
Regulation," or any successor standard and as deemed recoverable by the
board;

"Related competitive
business segment of an electric public utility or gas public utility"
means any business venture of an electric public utility or gas public utility
including, but not limited to, functionally separate business units, joint
ventures, and partnerships, that offers to provide or provides competitive
services;

"Related competitive
business segment of a public utility holding company" means any business
venture of a public utility holding company, including, but not limited to,
functionally separate business units, joint ventures, and partnerships and
subsidiaries, that offers to provide or provides competitive services, but does
not include any related competitive business segments of an electric public
utility or gas public utility;

"Reliability pricing
model" or "RPM" means PJM's capacity-market model, and its
successors, that secures capacity on behalf of electric load serving entities
to satisfy load obligations not satisfied through the output of electric
generation facilities owned by those entities, or otherwise secured by those
entities through bilateral contracts;

"Renewable energy
certificate" or "REC" means a certificate representing the
environmental benefits or attributes of one megawatt-hour of generation from a
generating facility that produces Class I or Class II renewable energy, but
shall not include a solar renewable energy certificate or an offshore wind
renewable energy certificate;

"Resource clearing
price" or "RCP" means the clearing price established for the
applicable locational deliverability area by the base residual auction or
incremental auction, as determined by the optimization algorithm for each
auction, conducted by PJM as part of PJM's reliability pricing model;

"Resource recovery
facility" means a solid waste facility constructed and operated for the
incineration of solid waste for energy production and the recovery of metals
and other materials for reuse, which the Department of Environmental Protection
has determined to be in compliance with current environmental standards,
including, but not limited to, all applicable requirements of the federal
"Clean Air Act" (42 U.S.C. s.7401 et seq.);

"Restructuring related
costs" means reasonably incurred costs directly related to the
restructuring of the electric power industry, including the closure, sale,
functional separation and divestiture of generation and other competitive
utility assets by a public utility, or the provision of competitive services as
such costs are determined by the board, and which are not stranded costs as
defined in P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.) but may include, but not be
limited to, investments in management information systems, and which shall
include expenses related to employees affected by restructuring which result in
efficiencies and which result in benefits to ratepayers, such as training or
retraining at the level equivalent to one year's training at a vocational or
technical school or county community college, the provision of severance pay of
two weeks of base pay for each year of full-time employment, and a maximum of
24 months' continued health care coverage. Except as to expenses related to
employees affected by restructuring, "restructuring related costs"
shall not include going forward costs;

"Retail choice"
means the ability of retail customers to shop for electric generation or gas
supply service from electric power or gas suppliers, or opt to receive basic
generation service or basic gas service, and the ability of an electric power
or gas supplier to offer electric generation service or gas supply service to
retail customers, consistent with the provisions of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49
et al.);

"Retail margin"
means an amount, reflecting differences in prices that electric power suppliers
and electric public utilities may charge in providing electric generation
service and basic generation service, respectively, to retail customers,
excluding residential customers, which the board may authorize to be charged to
categories of basic generation service customers of electric public utilities
in this State, other than residential customers, under the board's continuing
regulation of basic generation service pursuant to sections 3 and 9 of
P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51 and 48:3-57), for the purpose of promoting a
competitive retail market for the supply of electricity;

"Sanitary landfill
facility" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of P.L.1970,
c.39 (C.13:1E-3);

"School district"
means a local or regional school district established pursuant to chapter 8 or
chapter 13 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, a county special services
school district established pursuant to article 8 of chapter 46 of Title 18A of
the New Jersey Statutes, a county vocational school district established
pursuant to article 3 of chapter 54 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes,
and a district under full State intervention pursuant to P.L.1987, c.399
(C.18A:7A-34 et al.);

"Shopping credit"
means an amount deducted from the bill of an electric public utility customer
to reflect the fact that such customer has switched to an electric power
supplier and no longer takes basic generation service from the electric public
utility;

"Site investigation"
shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of P.L.1976, c.141
(C.58:10-23.11b);

"Small scale hydropower
facility" means a facility located within this State that is connected to
the distribution system, and that meets the requirements of, and has been
certified by, a nationally recognized low-impact hydropower organization that
has established low-impact hydropower certification criteria applicable to: (1)
river flows; (2) water quality; (3) fish passage and protection; (4) watershed
protection; (5) threatened and endangered species protection; (6) cultural
resource protection; (7) recreation; and (8) facilities recommended for
removal;

"Social program"
means a program implemented with board approval to provide assistance to a
group of disadvantaged customers, to provide protection to consumers, or to
accomplish a particular societal goal, and includes, but is not limited to, the
winter moratorium program, utility practices concerning "bad debt"
customers, low income assistance, deferred payment plans, weatherization
programs, and late payment and deposit policies, but does not include any
demand side management program or any environmental requirements or controls;

"Societal benefits
charge" means a charge imposed by an electric public utility, at a level
determined by the board, pursuant to, and in accordance with, section 12 of
P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-60);

"Solar alternative
compliance payment" or "SACP" means a payment of a certain
dollar amount per megawatt hour (MWh) which an electric power supplier or
provider may submit to the board in order to comply with the solar electric
generation requirements under section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87);

"Solar renewable energy
certificate" or "SREC" means a certificate issued by the board
or its designee, representing one megawatt hour (MWh) of solar energy that is
generated by a facility connected to the distribution system in this State and
has value based upon, and driven by, the energy market;

"Standard offer capacity
agreement" or "SOCA" means a financially-settled transaction
agreement, approved by board order, that provides for eligible generators to
receive payments from the electric public utilities for a defined amount of
electric capacity for a term to be determined by the board but not to exceed 15
years, and for such payments to be a fully non-bypassable charge, with such an
order, once issued, being irrevocable;

"Standard offer capacity
price" or "SOCP" means the capacity price that is fixed for the term
of the SOCA and which is the price to be received by eligible generators under
a board-approved SOCA;

"State entity" means
a department, agency, or office of State government, a State university or
college, or an authority created by the State;

"Stranded cost"
means the amount by which the net cost of an electric public utility's electric
generating assets or electric power purchase commitments, as determined by the
board consistent with the provisions of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.), exceeds
the market value of those assets or contractual commitments in a competitive
supply marketplace and the costs of buydowns or buyouts of power purchase
contracts;

"Stranded costs recovery
order" means each order issued by the board in accordance with subsection
c. of section 13 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-61) which sets forth the amount of
stranded costs, if any, the board has determined an electric public utility is
eligible to recover and collect in accordance with the standards set forth in
section 13 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-61) and the recovery mechanisms therefor;

"Thermal efficiency"
means the useful electric energy output of a facility, plus the useful thermal
energy output of the facility, expressed as a percentage of the total energy
input to the facility;

"Transition bond
charge" means a charge, expressed as an amount per kilowatt hour, that is
authorized by and imposed on electric public utility ratepayers pursuant to a
bondable stranded costs rate order, as modified at any time pursuant to the
provisions of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.);

"Transition bonds"
means bonds, notes, certificates of participation or beneficial interest or
other evidences of indebtedness or ownership issued pursuant to an indenture,
contract or other agreement of an electric public utility or a financing
entity, the proceeds of which are used, directly or indirectly, to recover,
finance or refinance bondable stranded costs and which are, directly or
indirectly, secured by or payable from bondable transition property.
References in P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.) to principal, interest, and
acquisition or redemption premium with respect to transition bonds which are
issued in the form of certificates of participation or beneficial interest or
other evidences of ownership shall refer to the comparable payments on such
securities;

"Transition period"
means the period from August 1, 1999 through July 31, 2003;

"Transmission and
distribution system" means, with respect to an electric public utility,
any facility or equipment that is used for the transmission, distribution or
delivery of electricity to the customers of the electric public utility
including, but not limited to, the land, structures, meters, lines, switches
and all other appurtenances thereof and thereto, owned or controlled by the
electric public utility within this State; and

"Universal service"
means any service approved by the board with the purpose of assisting
low-income residential customers in obtaining or retaining electric generation
or delivery service.

(cf: P.L.2012, c.24, s.1)

2. This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill revises the
provisions of the "Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act," P.L.1999,
c.23 (C.48:3-51) to include aneutronic fusion within the definition of Class I
Renewable Energy. Aneutronic fusion is a form of fusion power where no more
than 1 percent of total energy fusion released is carried by neutrons,
resulting in essentially neutron-free reactions.